VIERA, Fla. - There will be far more at stake when the Nationals and Mets for the first time in the regular season in May (and each time through September, perhaps beyond), but any time these two rivals get together on the diamond, it's worth a little extra attention. After the way things played out last year, this has become by far the best current rivalry in the National League East.
After a 6-2 victory over the Rays in Port Charlotte yesterday, the Nationals get to host New York in their...
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Dusty Baker is undefeated as Nationals manager.
OK, so it was only the Grapefruit League opener. And it came in a game played almost exclusively by reserves and prospects. And it won't show up anywhere on Baker's career managerial record.
But the Nats put together a solid all-around effort in defeating the Rays 6-2 at Charlotte Sports Park, rewarding their new skipper in his return to the dugout after a two-year hiatus. So, Dusty, was it just like riding a bike?
"Aw, I...
NATIONALS QUICK WRAP
Score: Nationals 6, Rays 2
Recap: The Nationals didn't bring any regular starting position players on the 3 1/2-hour bus ride to Port Charlotte, but they still acquitted themselves well in their Grapefruit League opener, thanks to solid pitching and one big blast. Tanner Roark was sharp during a scoreless two-inning start, striking out the final three batters he faced. Joe Ross labored some out of the bullpen, but the two runs he allowed in two innings were unearned. The...
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Dusty Baker hadn't given very much thought to the subject because he's been too busy getting to know a 62-man spring training roster and everything else involved in managing a new ballclub, including a 3 1/2-hour bus ride from Viera that departed at 7 a.m.
But when Baker did arrive at Charlotte Sports Park, stepped onto the field and into the visitors dugout, his return to baseball after a two-year absence moved a step closer to reality. There was a game to manage...
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla - After five long months, the Nationals today will take the field and play another team in an actual (exhibition) baseball game. No, it's not opening day, but it is the Grapefruit League opener, and that counts for something, right?
Game 1 of 31 total exhibitions to be played over the next month in Florida and Washington takes place clear on the other side of the state from the Nationals' home base. This is their first-ever trip to Rays camp, and all it takes for them to...
VIERA, Fla - This was something of a historic day here: the final workout for the Nationals at the practice fields down the street from Space Coast Stadium. From here on out, all workouts will take place inside the ballpark, prior to Grapefruit League games. And, of course, next spring the Nats will be opening their new shared complex with the Astros in West Palm Beach. (At least, that's what everyone hopes and assumes will happen.)
For all the flaws this complex and this location have...
VIERA, Fla - There comes a point every spring where the monotony of workouts really sets in, when pitchers' fielding practice and defensive fundamentals and pick-off drills just don't cut it anymore.
That point came today, the final day of workouts before Grapefruit League play commences.
Recognizing this, Nationals pitching coach Mike Maddux figured out a way to get his players the work they needed while at the same time breaking up the monotony with a fun contest: Wiffle ball.
Yes, Wiffle...
VIERA, Fla - When the Nationals embark early Wednesday morning on the three-hour drive to Port Charlotte for their Grapefruit League opener against the Rays, Ryan Zimmerman won't be on the bus. Then again, neither will any of the projected regular members of their starting lineup, veterans who generally don't have to make such a long spring training road trip.
Zimmerman, though, isn't expected to be in the lineup for Thursday's home opener at Space Coast Stadium, even though several other...
VIERA, Fla. - Forgive Trea Turner if the 2015 season remains a blur in his mind. He did, after all, play at three different levels of professional baseball, wearing four different uniforms for two different franchises.
It all culminated with a six-week stint in Washington, Turner's first in the major leagues, in which he played in 27 games, dealt with the highs and lows of a pennant race, and got to be part of a no-hitter.
And what was the biggest thing he took away from the whole...
VIERA, Fla - Some more observations and quotes from today's second (and final) intrasquad game ...
* Stephen Strasburg cruised through his first game-like appearance of the spring, retiring the side in the first inning on 16 pitches. He induced a pair of ground balls to the right side of the infield and then struck out Tyler Moore on a curveball.
Strasburg's goal in this very preliminary outing was simple.
"At this point, just go out there and try to command the fastball, mix in some...
VIERA, Fla - It was one inning of relief, three batters faced, in an intrasquad game played before noon in front of several dozen fans on the final day of February. Not typically the kind of setting evaluators put much stock in when watching ballplayers.
For Bronson Arroyo, this did carry significance. He hadn't faced any live hitters in anything resembling an actual baseball game since June 15, 2014, his last appearance in a major league stadium.
This was Arroyo's first chance to make a...
VIERA, Fla. - Intrasquad games in late February aren't designed so much for hitters as they are for pitchers, who use this opportunity to bridge the gap between live batting practice sessions and their first Grapefruit League outings later this week.
So don't read too much into the dominant pitching that was on display today in the Nationals' second (and final) intrasquad matchup of the spring. The eight-inning "game" featured only two runs (one unearned) and saw only one clean hit...
VIERA, Fla. - If yesterday's intrasquad game wasn't enough to whet your appetite for exhibition baseball, you're in luck: The Nationals are holding another intrasquad showdown today!
It'll be the same format as yesterday's game. First pitch at 11 a.m., with free admission to the public. Pitchers are scheduled to go one inning apiece, and the game will be a maximum of eight innings.
Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez get the starts, their first game-like appearances of the spring.
Several...
VIERA, Fla. - Dusty Baker was out of baseball only two years, but a lot happened in those two years, most notably the expansion of instant replay in the sport.
So Baker's biggest challenge now that he's managing the Nationals after a couple of years away from the game might have nothing to do with lineups or pitching changes, but replay challenge strategy.
Baker got something of a crash course in that subject, plus Major League Baseball's recent rule changes, during a two-hour meeting this...
VIERA, Fla. - The Nationals held their first intrasquad game of the spring (actually, their first intrasquad game in years) today. And the final score was ... uh, well ... I don't know. I do know the Nationals won, beating the Nationals. Unless they tied. Which is possible. (Loyal reader Mark Strattner, who was in attendance, reports the final score was 4-1, with Joe Ross' team victorious. I'll take his word for it.)
Suffice it to say, this wasn't exactly a traditional ballgame. Everybody...
VIERA, Fla. - Ian Desmond finally has a new home. And a new position.
Desmond has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Rangers worth $8 million, according to FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. Surprising as the low dollar figure and late timing of his signing is, even more surprising is the fact Texas plans to play the lifelong shortstop in left field.
Such was the state of this offseason for Desmond, whose stock plummeted due to the combination of a subpar year with the Nationals,...
VIERA, Fla. - The Nationals haven't traditionally held intrasquad games at spring training, but Dusty Baker has. And what Dusty wants, Dusty gets.
So it is that the Nats will split up into two teams this morning and play a pseudo-exhibition game against each other. Just don't count on this resembling anything like an official game.
For one thing, the plan is to play at most eight innings. Possibly fewer than that, if all the pitchers get used up. Each pitcher is scheduled to throw one inning,...
VIERA, Fla. - Davey Lopes has been doing this - either as a player, a coach or a manager - for more than four decades now. Baserunning is his livelihood, and few have ever done - or taught - it better.
So when the 70-year-old first base coach (reunited with the Nationals a decade after he held that same position on Frank Robinson's staff) stood on Field 2 outside Space Coast Stadium this morning offering a 45-minute clinic on the craft of baserunning, every position player on the roster was...
VIERA, Fla. - Some observations, notes and quotes about today's full-squad workout, the final one before intrasquad games start up Sunday ...
* The session opened with a lengthy baserunning clinic run by Davey Lopes. I'll have a full post on this later, but just know the session lasted about 45 minutes and literally covered every base. Lopes started with everyone at the plate, then moved to first base, second base and third base. It was as comprehensive a clinic as I can remember seeing on...
VIERA, Fla. - It's a lazy Saturday morning here at Nationals camp, the doldrums of spring training starting to set in. Everyone is heading over to the back fields now for another full-squad workout, featuring the usual live BP sessions, defensive drills, etc.
The biggest news of the morning so far: Danny Espinosa shaved his beard. Given how big it had grown, it might well have taken two hours to do it. You'll be happy to know (or perhaps horrified to know) that Danny had his official...